Marshfield missed a chance at a share of the league title Friday night, with a tough home loss against Midwestern League champion Thurston.
The Pirates fell 24-21 to the Colts, after leading 14-10 at halftime. The Pirates finished the regular season 3-2 and host Hermiston next Friday in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. Thurston swept the league 5-0, and has a first-round bye.
The Colts came out strong in the second half, scoring 14 points in the third quarter to take the lead 24-14. Marshfield staged a comeback attempt, starting with defensive back Gino Harpold intercepting Thurston’s Chance Hendrickson on the Thurston 33-yard line.
On the next play, Kyle Tedder tossed the ball to Chris Krajcir behind the line of scrimmage, and Krajcir aired it out 33 yards for a touchdown to Joey Morgan to pull Marshfield within three points.
On Thurston’s first play of the following drive, Tedder stripped Colts’ running back Michael Livingston to regain possession for Marshfield on the Thurston 40. Just as Marshfield seemed to gain momentum, Thurston’s defense shut down the Pirates’ normally potent offense for the rest of the game, with Tedder throwing a late interception to cement the Colts’ victory.
“I think everybody gave their all, but we came up short,” Krajcir said.
The first half was a different story.
Marshfield scored first on a 6-yard run by Tedder on the Pirates’ second possession.
Meanwhile, Marshfield’s defense shut down Thurston’s no-huddle offense in the first quarter, with the Colts barely crossing midfield. Thurston committed a few penalties, and the Pirates’ Nick Post recovered a Thurston fumble early in the second, but Marshfield went three-and-out.
“We started off a little shaky,” said Thurston running back Tyler Johnson, who finished the game with 72 yards rushing.
The Colts finally scored on a 27-yard field goal from Gustavo Machuca, then scored a quick 32-yard touchdown on a pass from Hendrickson to Jordan Loos to take the lead 10-7.
Marshfield answered on the next drive, scoring with less than one minute left in the half on a 32-yard reception by Krajcir from Tedder, who ended the game with 124 yards passing and one interception.
But Thurston came out of the locker room ready to play.
“We picked it up in the second half,” Johnson said. “It was definitely a different team.”
After scoring the first touchdown in the second half, Thurston got another boost when it recovered the short kickoff immediately following the score. But Marshfield blocked the Colts’ 40-yard field goal attempt. The Pirates immediately punted, and Thurston took the next drive in for a score.
“When we came out of the locker room, we were complacent,” Krajcir said. “We couldn’t wrap up the ball carrier in the second half.”
The Pirates’ defense did everything it could to get Marshfield back in the game, forcing late turnovers, but the offense ultimately couldn’t pull off the come-from-behind victory.
“The defense did a great job,” Marshfield coach Justin Ainsworth said.
Krajcir led the Pirates with 72 yards receiving, one touchdown reception and one touchdown pass. Morgan added 67 yards receiving.
Even though the loss kept Marshfield out of a share of the league title with Thurston — North Eugene upset Churchill Friday, leaving the Pirates in a tie for second with the Lancers — Ainsworth said the players will put the loss behind them as they enter the playoffs.
“That’s the kind of game you want going into the playoffs,” Ainsworth said. “We want to be game-tested. You need to be in those situations.
“They’re disappointed. They’re competitors, and competitors are always disappointed when they lose,” he said. “But we’re excited to be in the playoffs and move on from this loss.”
Krajcir said the players will use this close game as motivation to prove themselves when Hermiston, which finished 4-2 in the Intermountain League, visits the South Coast next week.
“I feel good,” Krajcir said. “It’ll be a little vengeance. We’ll just get after it.”
